Translucent internally illuminated container



Jan- Z, 1940- G. H. MEYERRICKS 2, 85,708

TRANSLUCENT INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED CONTAINER Filed Nov. 10, 1937 y 2 Z Q7 Merl/Z277 GEORGE H. MEYERRIQ KS w flfitorneys:

Patented Jan. 2, 1940 g I TRANSLUCENT INTERNALLY JLLUMINATED CONTAINER George H. Meyerriclrs, Hamburg, Germany Application November 10, 1937, Serial No. 173,810. I

In Germany November 11, 1938 1 Claim. (01. 40-'-126) I g This invention relates to translucent interto maintain in operation. Further a'sign which nally illuminated containers, hollow bodies and is "illuminated by means of and contains incanthe like which may be of any desired shape. The descent lamps must have a relatively great width object of the invention is 'to improve the eillin order to accommodate the incandescent lamps.

I ciency and utility of such bodies. A further disadvantage of illuminating plates, 5

Translucent, internally illuminated containers, signs and the like by means of incandescent elechollow bodies and the like are employed for tric lamps is that the lamps develop a very large many different purposes, for example for adver amount of heat, particularly when very powerful tising displays, illuminated signs, which may or lamps are employed; consequently a box sign,

- may not be provided with special legends, and which is illuminated by this means must be 10 so forth. If an article is to be displayed for adcapable of withstanding the heat produced. vertising purposes it is arranged in a display Usually it is quite out'of the question to attach window or, for permanent advertising purposes, any articles to the signs or plates because only it is set up on the side or top of a building or is very few articles are sufiiciently resistant to heat.

displayed in some other suitable manner. The The object of the present invention therefore difllculty is to make the articles visible in the is to obviate the aforesaid disadvantages and to evening and at night since the full value of the provide improved translucent internally illumiadvertisement is not obtained if the articles are nated containers, hollow bodies, signs and the visible only by day. Moreover even by days. like which are both inexpensive to manufacture display in a display window does not attract atand effective in use. The said hollow bodies and. 20 tention unless it stands out sufliciently from its the like may either ,be in the form of an imita- 5 surroundings. In the dark, a display is made tion or model of a particular article so that they visible in a display window by switching on the produce on the person who sees them the impreswindow lighting, while in the open air it may be sion that he is looking not at a representation made visible by means of flood lighting and the but at the actual object, or of signs which, as 25 like. The effect of the advertising display is such, attract the attention of the observer or are then largely lost because attention is directed" provided with legends or pictures. mostly to the light and not to the illuminated According to the invention, a luminous tubeis. object. A'disadvantage of illuminated advertisarranged inside the translucent container, holmg displays is that they do not correspond as low body or the like and its distance from the 80 regards colour with the actual appearance of boundary walls of the container or the like and the object which they represent. its path therethrough, which is closed by the Advertising displays of this nature were two terminal connections of the luminous tube, hitherto illuminated by means of incandescent are such that all parts of the translucent conelectric lamps but this kind of illumination is tainer or the like appear from the outside to be 35 very expensive owing to the high consumption uniformly illuminated. In some cases the tube of current which is necessary to obtain sufllcient m y be pr vi w n s or nvolu ions and uniform brightness. It has the further diswhich fill up a further portion of the internal advantage that the incandescent lamps heat up space. In any case, o e e he sh pe of the the display to a high temperature. luminous tube and its convolutions should be 40 The conditions are also the same when signs, such that the luminous portions of the different boards and the like have to be illuminated. parts of the tube or its windings do not intersect.

In the first place it is dimcult to illuminate It is possi le in t s way to repre y O the plate or sign uniformly and without shadows, ject to be advertised in such a way that it stands particularly when its area is large, because the out and produces a three-dimensional eflect even 45' source 01' light, namely-the incandescent lamps when illuminated. Thus for example bottles, employed for illumination, can always be deboxes, packages, human and animal figures and tected. Further, illuminated plates which are objects of any kind whatever can be made in this illuminated by means of incandescent lamps form. In the case of signs, plates and the like have the disadvantage that the incandescent they can be kept relatively fiat'and yet a threeso lamps must be of very high power even if an dimensional efiect is obtained because the part illumination which only approaches that which of the surface which appears luminous stands could be considered satisfactory is to be obout owing to its uniform illumination. Signs and tained. The consequence is that the signs or plates of this kind are extremely cheap to oper- 5 plates are very expensive both to make and also ate because the current consumption of the u luminous tubes is very low. Hollow bodies which are internally illuminated in this way remain quite cold even after the luminous tubes have been in operation for many hours, so that objects which melt, soften or change their shape at quite low temperatures can be fitted to or on the hollow bodies, signs or the like.

Especially in the case of signs and plates, the invention presents the possibility also of employing internally illuminated signs in places where illuminated signs could hitherto not be employed at all. This is particularly important for the trafiic signs which are erected in the streets. In most cases such signs have to be visible from two sides and on the other hand, in order to give the impression of being a plate,,they must be as thin as possible, nevertheless by means of the present invention uniform illumination, which is of greatest importance, can be obtained. Signs which have hitherto been illuminated from the outside can now be illuminated from the inside and they will then be more satisfactory, since they can be observed more easily owing tothe three-dimensional efiect produced.

Since the luminous tubes can be made in many different colours, it is possible to illuminate the entire sign or separate portions thereof in different colours. This possibility is of particular value for advertising purposes, when frequently the colour in which the sign appears is varied.

In order that the invention may be fully understood and readilycarried into effect, various examples of signs and display devices constructed in accordance with theinvention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows a display device in elevation,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the device of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a cross section on line A-B of Figure 2, i

Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of the drawing, the hollow body 0. represents a display device in the form of a fish. The body a is arranged on a-stand b which contains a transformer c which is connected to a source of current by means of two leads (I which pass to the outside through an opening in the stand b. Two leads from the transformer c are connected to two sockets .f into which two ends of a luminous electric disas the stand is then omitted.

charge tube a can be inserted. The luminous tube g extends upwardly inside the body a and runs at such a distance from the walls of the hollow body in a path which is closed by the two sockets j that the body appears from the outside to be uniformly illuminated. Since the luminous tube g follows exactly the contours of the hollow body representing afish, the impression made on an observer when the luminous tube is connected to the source of current is that of a three-dimensional representation of a fish.

If the display device is not to be carried on'a stand but is to be suspended or fixed in another manner the transformer can be fitted in the suspension device or in another suitable place Obviously the transformer can be separate from the display device, in which case the two leads to the sockets of the luminous tube are taken from the outside through the walls of the hollow body.

If the body to be illuminated is so large that uniform illumination is not obtained if the luminous tube follows the contour of 'the body, the

luminous tube may be bent or coiled in such a way that it illuminates the entire body uniformly. The translucent surfaces may be made, for example, of frosted glass, opal glass or the like.

The, luminous tubes employed are preferably,

neon tubes because these remain cold even after being in operation for many hours. However, other forms of luminous tubes, for example mercury vapour low pressure tubes, can be employed equally well since they heat up only to a relatively slight extent.

The shape and size of the hollow bodies, signs, plates and the like may be according to the intended use.

I claim:

An optical device, comprising a three-dimensional translucent body of non-symmetrical outline, and-agaseous discharge tube of identical non-symmetrical outline, said outline of the,

tube forming a closed circuit, the entire circuit being uniformly spaced from the outline of the container, whereby all parts of the translucent body appear from the outside to be uniformly varied as desired illuminated and the effect of a three-dimensional body is produced.

GEORGE H. MEYERRICKS. 

